Anti-Gay-Pride Rally Draws 1,000 in Moscow

Just weeks after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Moscow’s ban on gay pride marches illegal, over 1,000 protestors convened on Bolotnaya Square. The gathering was comprised of mainly Orthodox organizations. Signs expressed this communities anger about the growing acceptance of homosexuality in Moscow. "We do not need gay parades!", "A Gay parade will never be held in Moscow," the signs said.

Others say that the rally wasn’t so much anti-gay, but anti-EU. Vladimir Khomyakov, a co-chairman of the Narodny Sobor (People’s Gathering) Orthodox organization, said, "Despite the stories about our belligerent homophobia, we have never urged and are not urging [others] to destroy gay clubs and attack gays. We have come to claim that the ECHR ruling is a gross interference in Russia’s domestic affairs and a violation of the Russian constitution and international law."